Follow Us on Google
From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Niger Delta University (NDU) has rebuffed the call by Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri for the striking lecturers to call off their “sympathy strike” with its parent body in the interest of the students.
Diri speaking at a dinner hosted for the victorious Bayelsa United declared that the strike by university teachers “was no longer justifiable as they have been receiving their salaries monthly without going to work.”
However the Chairman of ASUU NDU, Prof Tonbara Kingdom insisted that the union was neither on sympathy nor solidarity strike with ASUU.
According to him ASUU NDU is part of the national strike declared by the national union because the issue which revolves around the survival of public universities also affects NDU.
Prof Kingdom who spoke in an interview while clarifying that ASUU NDU has no issues with Governor Diri maintained that ASUU is on a mission to rescue public universities and there is no going back.
He also dismissed insinuations that the lecturers were collecting salaries without doing any work noting that the striking lecturers are working for their pay.
“We are not on a sympathy strike or solidarity strike. We are part of the strike because the issues affect us. Conditions of service affects us, revitalisation funds, we are not fighting the governor. If this strike fails, public universities would collapse. The semblance of university is because of the strikes by ASUU. We have resolved that we are not backing out.
“We are working. Every academic has three mandates, community service, research and teaching which is the least of the services. We are not collecting free money; the impression is as if we have been dashed money. No, we are working for it. We are doing community service, doing research and supervising our final year and Msc students.”
